Ral

Ral, or The Râl, is an archaic language formerly spoken by the inhabitants of Ayrwll. It distinguishes itself from other languages mostly by its utter lack of articles, which are replaced by word endings, and its way of deriving nearly all adjectives and nouns from the root forms of verbs. Its words are quite long, and it is not unusual to find a sentence in English to have a third of the words in its Râl translation, and twice the number of letters.

Grammar

Sentence Structure

The word order of a sentence in Râl is loosely defined as "Acting Noun - Verb - Object", though "Acting Noun - Object - Verb" is also possible and slightly less common. Adjectives are placed either before or after the noun, both are equally common. Adverbs are placed directly before the verb or at the end of the sentence.

Verb Conjugation

All verbs are conjugated in the regular form, that is, by attaching the proper ending to the root form.

Infinitive

Infinitive Form : -are

Singular Present

• First Person : -a
• Second Person : -as
• Third Person : -at

Plural Present

• First Person : -ai
• Second Person : -asi
• Third Person : -ati

Singular Past

• First Person : -ata
• Second Person : -atas
• Third Person : -atat

Plural Past

• First Person : atai
• Second Person : atais
• Third Person : atait

The future form is equivalent to the Imperative, or Command form. Thus there is no difference between predicting something that will happen in the future and commanding it.

Imperative

• Singular : -ar
• Plural : -ari

The singular form is used almost always nowadays, even for sentences with the plural.

Nouns

Regular nouns are formed by attaching a suffix to a verb form. Regular nouns are classified as one of the following:

Processive Case

This form stands for a process that is occurring - such as "The Rising", Antoran, or "The Breaking", Rentaran.

• Singular Processive : -an
• Plural Processive : -ani

Impersonal Objective Case

This form stands for the product of a process that has occurred. It is always an inanimate object that is referred to. This form is used quite rarely in common speech and outside of poetry, since usually the object of the process is not defined by the process. For example, the morning sun might be metaphorically named "The Risen One", or Antoren, but outside of a poem it would sound highly unnatural.

• Singular Impersonal : -en
• Plural Impersonal : -endi

Instrumental Case

This form is used for inanimate actors, or objects that are used for certain processes. Thus a quill would be "A Writer", or Cartaya in the Instrumental case. A piece of paper, or any sheet used for writing might be named Cartenaya, since its instrumental purpose involves being the object of the writing process.

• Singular : -aya
• Plural : -ayar

Personal Actor Form

• Singular Male Actor : -andon
• Singular Female Actor : -anda
• Plural Actors : -andim

Personal Objective Form

• Male Object : -endon
• Female Object : -enda
• Plural Objects : -endim

Irregular Nouns

Irregular nouns can take almost any suffix - even suffices that are used by other forms -, and can not be formed back into verbs. One example for that is "elar" which is the singular form for "star". The plural form is "elari", and there is no verb root.

A modernized version of the language attempts to replace these with more consistent regular forms, but it is used very rarely. In that version, for example, "star" is translated as "inanimate shiner", and thus a calumaya - even though that form is also used for lanterns.

Adjectives & Adverbs

• Active Process : -andê
• Finished Process/Static : -endê

• Present Adverb : -ando
• Future Adverb : -antoro
• Past Adverb : -antoto

The tenses for the adverb are adjusted according to the tense of the verb, not of the property itself. Thus to say, "The Sun rises brightly", one would use the present adverb of "bright", and for "The Sun rose brightly", the past adverb would be used.

Vocabulary

Râl places the greatest importance on verbs, and most other word forms are derived from a verb. This can be seen in the colors (caryende, "red") being derived from verbs (carye, "to be red") even though these verbs are obsolete in common usage. As indicated in the grammar section, every verb can be formed into any other word form, such as a noun or adjective. Some nouns and adjectives are "irregular", meaning that they do not have a root verb. A Râl verb is by definition never irregular (although some strange exceptions in its conjugation may arise).

Verbs

The following verbs are part of the Râl vocabulary. It should be noted that some of them (like "blacken") are rarely used as a verb, and usually in one of their other forms, such as an adjective or a noun. All colors are used as a static adjective, thus "black" is moryende.

allye: lose
antore: rise
aramore: create
arare: count
avatare: to name
ayare: join/unite
azgare: hurt (feel pain)
belare: justify
belye: gray
calare: land
calumare: shine
cartare: write
carthare/carthrare: burn
carye: redden
caytare: keep ("be a steward over")
conduare: rescue
core: grow
dizre: be uncertain (used as Instrumental or Adjective)
ermarie: glorify
estylare: hope
evenare: happen (come to pass)
ezkede: not-know, be in ignorance of
ezkedore: lit. not-think, be stupid
ezraye: die, also extinguish/destroy (non-persons)
folore: keep (high)
gartare: improve
gemare: give (gift/donation)
gurtaye: slay
gwamdare: protect
haraye: greet/hail
hestore: fall
hiscanyare: possess power (commonly used as Instrumental or Adjective)
ilyare: gladden
kachtare: devour
kadore: do magic
kede: know
kedore: think (occasionally "remember")
khantore: sing
khescare: avenge/be wrathful
lastare: hear
lasvidare: phrophesy (foresee)
layare/laiyare: travel
lenare: give (lend/sell)
lentare: work
letrare: tire
lissare: tremble
lorye: to dream
lotare: weep
more: to shadow
morye: blacken
nalaye: dispense
nayare: live
nimye: whiten
nyvrare: begin (sometimes renew)
oranare: change (also: differ)
râlare: speak
ramare: begin
rancare: wander
ravire: use wrongfully (abuse)
raytare: age (grow older)
rentare: break
rulore: heave
selye: yellow
shalare: owe
tare: be
tynare: make perfect
theodare: lit. to be divine (Theodan = God/god, note the lack of personification)
tilyare: heal
ulayare: come
uzare: wait
valare: rule
valaiyare: guide ("rule travel")
vidayare/vidare: see
volare: desire
zamore: to be in agony

Miscellaneous Words & Prepositions

an': for, unto (marking purpose or destination)
calray...: it-must-be-that...
car: by
carcûn': with
cûn': and
corcûn': but/although
dizcar: if
dizcûn': or
dizray...?: is-it-true that...?
dizyan: then
ec': of (short form)
ecar: of
ezrah: no
gar: more (comparative escalation)
hiscar: when
ocar: from (place)
oyan: to (place)
ram: yes
ron: in (locational preposition, spatial)
run: during/while (locational preposition, temporal)
samar: water
sa: shall (female subject)
so: shall (male subject)
sa'm: shall-I (first person, female)
so'm: shall-I (first person, male)
ty': most (superlative escalation)
ucar: from (time)
uyan: to (time)
'yan: to (time/place determined by preceding form/context)

Nouns

Some of these nouns are not irregular, but derived from verbs in a non-intuitive way. These are marked with the verb they are derived from.

A plural is commonly formed by appending an -i. Where other plurals are used, this is marked explicitly.

anaur: tomorrow (lit. "unto-day", the day until which the current or following night lasts)
anzul: tonight (ditto)
Aramon: Creation
auryan: day
Carthrammen: Fire
cyar: vessel
elar: star
Ezraith: Destruction/Void
laiyarya: road (from laiyare, travel)
Lastrohannen: Earth
Samaræa: Water
sol: Sun (only accurate for Earth's sun, but common usage extends it to the day star of any world)
solantor: Sunrise/East (a time or a direction, respectively, depending on context)
solestor: Sunset/West (ditto). Occasionally spelled "solhestor".
telaran: color
tildrin: shore
tildrinyen: shores (irregular plural)
vashnor: sky/heaven
Vashnorya: Air/Wind
zulyan: night

Adjectives

lannen: eternal
orande: changing
orende: changed/different

Numbers

Râl employs the decimal system. The root forms of its numbers from zero to nine are derived from certain verb roots.

• 0 : Ezrayanth (from Ezraye, to destroy/die)
• 1 : Aramanth' (from Aramore, to create)
• 2 : Dizrayanth (from Dizraya, uncertainty)
• 3 : Hiscanyanth (from Hiscanya, power)
• 4 : Khantamanth (from Khantabokh, Good)
• 5 : Rahmothanth (from Rahgamoth, Chaos)
• 6 : Khescayanth (from Khescaya, Wrath/Vengeance)
• 7 : Cyaranth (from Cyar, vessel - an irregular noun)
• 8 : Scylluthanth (from Scylluthankh, Evil)
• 9 : Controdanth (from Controdorr, Order)

(Note that Order, Chaos, Good and Evil are used with their respective meaning in the four-fold alignment system common to some fantasy worlds.)

To form higher decimals, the first syllable (for example, His, Rah, or Cya) is taken and attached to the following suffixes.

10:      mez
100:     coth
1000:    tan
10000:   meztan
100000:  cothtan
1000000: tandis

Thus, 6,431,203 would be

Khestandis Khancothtan Hismeztan Aratan Dizcoth Hiscanyanth

To form an 'ordinal' number word, like first, second, third, etc, only an -ê is attached to the normal word, thus Aramezê is Tenth.

Expressions

• Ezkedan ezkarzat, cór'tat ezkedoran.

Ignorance ("Non-knowledge") is no shame, but Stupidity ("Non-thought") is.